Black Horse Inn | Kirkby Fleetham | North Yorkshire

Note to readers: Our stay was complimentary; however, this is an authentic account of our experience and this post was produced without any external editorial control.

Our quest to sniff out the best dog friendly pubs across Britain continues with a stop at the Black Horse Inn based in Kirkby Fleetham, North Yorkshire...

The Room

We arrived on a very damp day so we checked in and headed to our room to dry off before dinner. There are seven en-suite bedrooms at the Black Horse Inn and all of them are dog friendly. We stayed in 'The Shergar Suite' which is situated on the ground floor and has a lovely little patio garden which can be accessed directly from the room via the French doors. Elsa loves being able to look outside and it's always good to have easy access to the outdoors when you have a dog, so this was ideal! The cherry blossom tree in the corner of the garden gave it a very pretty feel and, just over the top of the hedge, we could also see stunning views of the countryside with fields full of horses.

Each room is individually decorated and there is a 'shabby chic' theme throughout the Inn that gives it a homely feel. Our bed was absolutely huge and we found lots of little extras in the room including a fridge with bottled water, orange juice, an adorable little bottle of fresh milk. Along with the usual tea and coffee selection we also found Curly Wurlies! (These seem to go down very well according to the guestbook!)

There were complimentary H2K toiletries in the bathroom where we also found a walk-in shower and a large roll top bath. Both had extendable shower heads, perfect for washing little paws after a muddy walk.

The shabby chic theme continues inside the pub which has a large function/ dining room as well as a very spacious bar area where most people seemed to be sitting and soaking up the relaxed atmosphere. It was quite busy for a weeknight so we'd suggest booking a table if you want to be certain that you'll be able to sit in the dog friendly area in the evening.

Dining at the Black Horse Inn

Elsa was made to feel very welcome in the pub, she really enjoyed the dog biscuits and was offered a bowl of fresh water when we sat down. The tables are quite big and there was lots of space for her to settle quite comfortably at our feet.

The award-winning restaurant offers a selection of traditional British pub food, homemade with local ingredients and produce. I'm normally a 'main and dessert' kind of girl but I also have a weakness for baked Camembert so I ambitiously ordered this along with a half-rack of spicy, sticky BBQ ribs. The food was presented beautifully and was absolutely delicious! I'm ashamed to say that I didn't make it to dessert... but that's a sign of a very satisfying meal!

The service was attentive and all of the diners were very well looked after by the friendly bar staff and waiters throughout the evening.

The pub is set in very quiet surroundings so we had a peaceful night's sleep. After a short walk around the village the next morning we headed back into the pub for a cooked breakfast.

Having missed out on dessert, I was determined to satisfy my sweet-tooth and opted for the pancakes!

The Black Horse Inn also offers an alternative option for guests who'd prefer to have breakfast in their room in the form of a picnic hamper filled with continental-style breakfast goodies.

We loved our stay at the Black Horse Inn with Elsa and left feeling very refreshed and well-fed. This is a real hidden-gem of a pub!

It's an ideal place for people who are travelling with dogs to find some good food and a comfortable place to stay... but don't just take our word for it; We found a guestbook in the room with lots of glowing reviews from previous guests (who had travelled from as far as the USA and as close as just 2 miles away) and they all had wonderful things to say about the room, location, ambiance, service and food at the pub! It was lovely to see that so many people had also enjoyed staying here with their dogs too.

The Black Horse Inn is listed on the UK's leading pub accommodation website: Stay in a Pub, a one-stop booking platform for customers wanting to experience the good food, real ale, fine wines and hospitality that the Great British pub has to offer.

About the Author

Kelly graduated from university with a Ba (Hons) in Journalism, but fate took her down a different career path… until a little furry muse came into her life and she discovered blogging as a creative outlet to share her love of writing, photography, travel and dogs!